Blood Pressure Lowering in Acute Stroke Trial (BLAST)
Status:
Withdrawn
Trial end date:
1969-12-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Patients who are suffering from a stroke often present to the hospital with elevated blood
pressure. Elevated blood pressure in the setting of stroke increases the risk of brain
swelling or bleeding into the brain. Even so, there has been concern about lowering the blood
pressure with medications because the newly injured parts of the brain may not get the blood
flow they need, thereby worsening the damage from the initial stroke. We hope to demonstrate
that the drug valsartan can be used safely and modestly to lower blood pressure in acute
stroke patients, without having a detrimental effect on brain blood flow or neurologic
status. Novel MRI techniques to measure brain blood flow will be used in conjunction with
clinical scales to demonstrate safety.